Coop Maintenance Fees

Sorry to hear you're in a difficult situation.

The co-op has the right to foreclose if you stop paying maintenance. (They can probably also assess late fees or other penalties.) If they foreclose, they'd sell the apartment, deduct their costs to sell it and all the fees you owe them, and your mom receives whatever balance remains.

A better option might be renting it out, which will require the co-op board's permission, but would probably be more palatable to them than missed maintenance payments leading toward potential foreclosure. (Obviously your attorney may have a comment on how rental income would affect the Medicaid application.) You might be able to obtain a personal loan to help with basic fix-up work -- if you can make the case that rent would cover the maintenance in the future, leaving some portion of your $1000/month available to repay the loan.

if you start doing the reno (3-6 months), then put it on the market (1-6 months), finally close (3-4 months), do you think your mother will have medicaid by then?

we are talking about approx 1 year time and unless the apartment is in the ghetto of Queens (Cypress Hill or the like), you will definitely get money.

If your mom is in a nursing home, medicaid doesnt kick in to pay for the home until her assets are virtually depleted.....ie if you sell,the nursing home can take that cash to pay for its services before medicaid kicks in.....you should speak to an eldercare attorney...

Have you looked into renting the unit? If you rent you can have cash flows that cover the current costs and perhaps something for your troubles. Is the apartment liveable?

Is there a loan on the unit?

Cypress Hill is in Brooklyn, not Queens.

From what I understand, the board can put a lien against the apartment that would prevent a sale from going through until it's paid. Depending on how much work needs to be done you may not even be able to rent it out, but at least check into it. If I were you I would either push the attorney to figure out a way to put it on the market now or I would start being the squeaky wheel with medicaid and explain the situation to whoever is making the decisions.

Thank you all for your comments. The apt is not in livable condition now and I can't afford to renovate it to make it so. I have a family with two children and my own mortgage to pay so there is nothing left over at the end of the month to pay for the coop maintenance. As it stands now, the money I would get if I sold the apt now would probably all go to pay back Medicaid. If I kept paying the maintenance I wouldnt get that money back anyway since at the end all the proceeds would go to Medicaid. I don't care about the apt. Should I just let it go into foreclosure.